Thursday, March 8, 2012

You know the story by now, surely. In 1983, during a 12-hour drive from Boston to Canada, Mitt Romney's oldest son, Tagg, noticed something brown on the family station wagon's rear window. It was the family dog, Seamus, having a post-digestive event while in the carrier that was attached to the roof of the car.

Romney pulled the car off the road and into a gas station, where he found a hose to wash off the car and dog (although not necessarily in that order). Then Mitt put Seamus back in the carrier and hit the road again.

The story was broken rather innocently by Boston Globe reporter Neil Swidey as part of a profile of Romney in 2007. It has found its way into political coverage and dog shows and, frequently, the columns of New York Times writer Gail Collins, who has made great sport of finding ways to mention Seamus, including a whole column this week.

Also this week, a riff on the story made our new favorite cover of the New Yorker.

The tale is, first of all, kind of funny, given that Seamus survived the rest of the trip just fine. Swidey says he included it in his series because he thought it was a telling example of how Romney operates on logic, not emotion. It's also a clear illustration of Romney's not-like-us-ness, and although we might not like what that says about us as voters, it matters at least a little in the selling of a candidate. (See George H.W. Bush, supermarket scanner.)

Is it, however, a political cheap shot to keep bringing this up? There's an interesting discussion on the matter at Politico, where Democratic and Republican strategists are debating if and why the story should matter.

One interesting take, from Democratic strategist Margie Omero:

"Lots of people have a story of the safety risks they took in the 70s and 80s. So I wonder if this story actually makes Romney seem more like a regular guy than his real-time gaffes about working people."

The panelists' consensus on Seamus and Romney: It's politics, and it's America. Maybe it's easier to buy into these narratives - Mitt and his dog, Gerald Ford and his clumsiness, George H.W. Bush and the checkout line - than it is to pursue the substance of candidates. Or maybe it's just a fun story.

38
comments:

Anonymous
said...

"The tale is, first of all, kind of funny, given that Seamus survived the rest of the trip just fine."

You think it's funny? You're as stupid as Mitt Romney...maybe more so, since he was just ignorant, but you should know better. The dog was probably terrified. Tell you what, let me put you in a dog crate, strap it to the top of my car, and take you on a little trip...not stopping to let you go to the bathroom. Think you might come up with a few brown stains?

Is it a "political cheap shot" to keep bringing up the story? No, not in the least...because it shows Romney's lack of intelligence, common sense, and further highlights his uncaring nature.

A great point. There's a fine line between noting what people are talking about, and being a part of keeping that conversation going. My rationale here: This post touches more on what the Seamus story says about us, not Romney.

You guys never vetted Obama:why was he and Michelle's law licenses revoked? His associations with Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dorn...why does he bow to the Saudi's? He has stated numerous times he is a Muslim...on and on...

Peter St. Onge: thanks for keeping an eye on the comments and participating in discussion! I tend to think that the perpetuation of this anecdote is an effort to mass those of the PETA faith to oppose Romney. Outrageous! Shame! Damnable cultist! How dare he! Irish setters are people, too!

There was a request for inactive status. Like many professions, a law license requires continuing education (CLEs) and since neither Obama was going to be practicing law, there was no need to take CLEs and keep their respective licenses active.

And a "good" conservative these days is a Catholic priest, bishop, or cardinal -- Republican, to be sure -- who rails against birth control while, all the time, either sexually molesting children himself or criminally protecting fellow pedophile priests. Sexual activity is a matter of personal choice and no one else's business so long as it is between consenting adults. A woman's reproductive rights belong to that woman and no one else -- surely not to the all to many aged male Republican legislators who, in the name of reducing government, want to thwart individual contraceptive rights by using government legislation to disrupt womens' lives. And as for Mr. Romney, well, he is a highly narcisstic, selfish, faux religious man who shows weak and/or ever-changing judgment on political matters, wrecked many Americans lives economically by eliminating thousands of jobs as he orchestrated the demise of many putting profitable US companies/ businesses in order to fatten his own wallet, and -- as the example of his dog Seamus demonstrates -- has no common sense and no more compassion for animals than he does for other human beings.

Change of topic but isnt it just GREAT and WONDERFUL that Ballentyne will be splitting from Charlotte to create its own city?

We need a few more cities to split off and be created.

Since H845 NOMORE ANNEXATION without 60% approval was passed by both houses in Raleigh and went into effect June 30th 2011 things are removing fast.

Purdue copped out and of course ex-Mayor Pat McCrory will be elected the new GOP Govenor to go with the GOP NC Legislature.

Once the GOP takes the WH in Nov and also takes the Senate there will be major changes after all the illegals are shipped back to Mexico and guards put at the border to shoot to kill intruders.

We need a total of 4 new cities in Mecklenburg that will whiz thru the GOP in Raleigh. This should reduce the size of Charlotte by 50% and make it possible for separate new independent school systems to be created. Taxes will be reduced greatly also.

Free at last free at last Thank God Almighty free at last ...

City of BallentyneCity of Lake WylieCity of Lake NormanCity of UNC Charlotte

The story was a loser to me, until Mr. Romney commented on the furor over the story.He said, "The dog loved riding there in the carrier and it was air tight so there was no danger and the dog was just fine."Excuse me, but if you put a dog in a 3X3X4 foot space that was airtight for a length of 6 hours twice, the dog would not be a problem, it would be dead from lack of O2.It seems like a case of Romney making up an excuse while flying by the seat of his pants. Not a story with a very presidential ending.

Placing Seamus on the roof of his car was a symbolic way for Romney to show his veneration for the Golden Calf. It was undoubtedly unconscious but it's there, plain as day, for anyone with a little imagination to see. Mitt Romney loves the Golden Calf more than he loves G-D.

Come on, folks. Have you never seen a pickup truck scooting down the street with a dog in the back? Dogs ears are flying in the wind and dog has a big smile on his face? Don't you remember riding in the back of your dads pickup in the '50s,'60s before it was outlawed for safety reasons? It was such fun.Lighten up, folks. That was not a crime. Chill!!

Actually the Real Issue is not being ignored. The real story is this man's thinking is that it is ok to do this to an animal. Does no one think that someone with that little caring for his own family pet will actually give a darn about the people of this country?Frankly the Romney's seem to have a ongoing issue with lack of caring for Animals and that concerns me.

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The Observer's editorial board cares deeply about Charlotte and the Carolinas, and has a problem with public officials who have forgotten that they report to citizens. Editorial page editor Taylor Batten and associate editors Peter St. Onge and Eric Frazier tackle politics and public policy issues locally, across the state and nation. Kevin Siers tackles those issues too in cartoons. Read their columns and biographical information on the CharlotteObserver.com Opinion page.